Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Second Day.-MORNING.
JEW every morning is the love
Our wak'ning and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life, and power, and thought.
New mercies, each returning day,
Hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sins forgiven,
New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.
If on our daily course our mind
Be set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.
Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be,
As more of heav'n in each we see;
Some soft'ning gleam of love and prayer
Shall dawn on every cross and care.
We need not bid, for cloister'd cell,
Our neighbour and our work farewell,-
Nor strive to wind ourselves too high
For sinful man beneath the sky.
The trivial round, the common task, ·
Will furnish all we ought to ask;
Room to deny ourselves, a road
To bring us daily nearer God.
Only, O Lord, in Thy dear love,
Fit us for perfect rest above;
And help us, this and every day,
To live more nearly as we pray.
Second Day.-EVENING.
UN of my soul, Thou Saviour dear!
It is not night if Thou be near;
O may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes.
When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My wearied eyelids gently steep;
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
For ever on my Saviour's breast!
Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.
If some poor wand'ring child of Thine
Have spurn'd to-day the Voice Divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin,
Let him no more lie down in sin.
Watch by the sick, enrich the poor
With blessings from Thy boundless store;
Be every mourner's sleep to-night,
Like infant slumbers, pure and bright.
Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere thro' the world our way we take;
Till, in the ocean of Thy love,
We lose ourselves in Heav'n above!
Third Day.-MORNING.
PLEASANT are Thy courts above
In the land of light and love;
Pleasant are Thy courts below,
In this land of sin and woe.
O my spirit longs and faints
For the converse of Thy saints,
For the brightness of Thy face,
For Thy fulness, God of grace!
Happy birds that sing and fly
Round Thine altars, O most High;
Happier souls that find a rest
In a Heav'nly Father's breast.
Like the wand'ring dove, that found
No repose on earth around,
They can to their ark repair,
And enjoy it ever there.
Happy souls! their praises flow
Even in this vale of woe;
Waters in the desert rise,
Manna feeds them from the skies:
On they go from strength to strength,
Till they reach Thy throne at length;
At Thy feet adoring fall,
Who hast led them safe through all.
Lord! be mine this prize to win,
Guide me through a world of sin;
Keep me by Thy saving grace,
Give me at Thy side a place :
Sun and Shield alike Thou art :
Guide and guard my erring heart;
Grace and glory flow from Thee—
Shower, O shower them, Lord, on me.
Third Day.-EVENING.
LEAD, kindly Light, amid th' encircling gloom,
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on:
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene,-one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou
Should'st lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path,-but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and 'spite of fears
Pride ruled my will;-remember not past years!
So long Thy power has blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
Amen.
Fourth Day.-MORNING.
'HRIST! Whose glory fills the skies,
Christ! the true, the only Light;
Sun of Righteousness arise,
Triumph o'er the shades of night ;
Day-spring from on high, be near,
Day-star, in my heart appear.
Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by Thee;
All around in life forlorn,
Till Thy mercy's beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.
Visit, then, this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiancy Divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day!
Fourth Day.-EVENING.
ABIDE with me, fast falls the eventide,
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day,
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see,
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour,
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Thro' cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
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